2 Rwandans held in Burundi

Two Rwandans are being held in Bujumbura, Burundi, on allegations of espionage. Joseph Mbonyinshuti and Aimé Nkundabatware were arrested on June 22, at Nemba, Rwanda-Burundi border. The two are employees of Enterprise Multi-Service (EMS), a Kigali-based firm. Sources privy to the matter told The New Times that the duo was conducting a study on the Rwandan side of the border, when they were tricked into crossing over to the Burundian side. “They had been working on a research project for about a week when they were asked by a group of civilians to explain their activities to officials in the area. Before they knew it, they had already been tricked into crossing the border and arrested by Burundian authorities,” the source said. After being held at a facility in Kirundo Province for about a week, they were transferred to Bujumbura and handed over to the crime investigations department. “The long detention without prosecution, prison conditions, lack of proper legal representation and the political situation in Burundi have left them emotionally exhausted, unsafe and uncertain of their fate,” the source added. The duo is said to have found legal services of a Burundian pro bono lawyer, Pierre Claver Tuyisenge. The lawyer said his clients were moved to Mpimba prison on July 3 following interrogations. Tuyisenge said, with the Burundian Judiciary currently on recess, there has been delay in presenting the two before court. “This month, the courts here are on recess, but when it ends, we will seek an appeal hearing and do our best to have them set free. We will seek to have the case dropped as clearly there is no case against them,” Tuyisenge told The New Times. Rwanda’s ambassador to Burundi, Amadin Rugira, confirmed the arrests and charges against the duo, adding that they are held at Bujumbura Central prison. He said the espionage charges were ‘fake’ and was optimistic that the case would be dropped in the coming days. Rugira explained that the embassy was making efforts to offer assistance to the two Rwandans by facilitating their lawyer and trying to prove that they are forestry experts and in no way linked to intelligence services. “It may not be possible to sort out the matter diplomatically as the case is already under a judicial process, but we are optimistic that with the help of their lawyer the charges will be dropped, considering that they were even tricked into crossing the border,” Rugira said. In June, this year, at the height of violent protests in Burundi, a Rwandan journalist, Etienne Besabesa, working for Radio Izuba, Radio Flash and Igihe.com, was arrested in Burundi on grounds that he had entered the country illegally. Besabesa was also accused of espionage and recruiting youth to join a rebel movement against the Burundi government. Court, however, found all charges against him lacking in evidence and he was consequently released.

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2 Rwandans held in Burundi